Big Moment Players or Clutch Perfomers

[Mofra]

Re: Big Moment Players or Clutch Perfomers

Bob Murphy looked like he wanted to have a say in the final quarter on Friday - one shot on the run from 50 bounces a few metres closer to goal and we're all in different moods today.

He also took a big grab on the half forwardline late in the game. His intent was clear.
Griffen kicked a late goal against Melbourne that got us across the line.
Johnno has doen it in the past but he needs to get back to full touch first.
Hall took a big mark against Port in the NAB cup that won us the game.

The trick really is not getting to that stage to begin with.

[Topdog]

Re: Big Moment Players or Clutch Perfomers

Eagleton is nearly BOG every Semi Final, but it doesn't make him a big game/moment player.

Griff has a long, long way to go before he can be called a match winner.

How about Griff being our BOG in our last 2 finals series. I think he is a big game player.

[Greystache]

Re: Big Moment Players or Clutch Perfomers

It seems other agree with me-

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/dogs-flaws-underlined-by-the-hawks-20100705-zxk9.htm

AT THE most critical moment of last Friday night's match, in a game that could define a season for both the Bulldogs and Hawthorn, there was a boundary throw-in in the Hawks' forward line.
Thirty-six players were in Hawthorn's half of the ground for the throw-in. Eighteen obviously were Bulldogs. None stood near the Hawks' Sam Mitchell.
It was bizarre, then, that having bullocked to the front of the ruck contest, Will Minson made sure to paddle the ball back over his left shoulder to no Bulldog teammate but directly into the path of the Hawk captain, who gathered the ball and, from a step, kicked the goal to put the Hawks in front.
Minutes later the Dogs goaled to reclaim the lead, but then, from another congested stoppage in the Hawthorn forward line, the Hawks' other leader, Luke Hodge, was found alone with the ball and kicked a goal that gave his side a lead from which it would not be overtaken. Hodge, like Mitchell, had not been covered by a Bulldogs player at the stoppage. There were 18 Dogs players protecting land but not all protecting a man.

Former player Luke Darcy observed on One Week At A Time last night that it reflected that his former side was troubled in adhering to the small disciplines and structures in games in which the top four sides seldom relax.
The interesting coincidence was that the two goalkickers to put Hawthorn in front were the club's two leaders, Hodge and Mitchell. Perhaps it was simply coincidence that they were the players to find space and the ball, and to finish. But those sorts of coincidences so often seem to follow the best players.
Four of the Dogs' six losses this year have been by 10 points or less. The four-point win over Melbourne was its only victory in a close match.
These issues further raise the point of whether the Dogs' most important midfield players - Adam Cooney and Ryan Griffen - sufficiently influence games against the best sides at those critical moments.

Age columnist Robert Walls used an analogy in a recent column in which players were driving the bus and dictating matters for their teams. Hodge and Mitchell were bus drivers. A query now is whether Cooney drives the bus enough for a player of his ability.
''At Hawthorn they have won all the close ones this year and the Doggies have lost them. I would be looking at blokes like Cooney and Griffen and [Bob] Murphy to get them over the line,'' Walls said. ''The lack of someone there prepared to take the lead in those tight games to get them over the line is important.''

Former Bulldogs captain Chris Grant said that team form was critical to an individual's ability to influence results. He admitted they did not have a Nick Riewoldt type for that sort of impact as Cooney was a player who would deliver ''death by a thousand cuts'' if allowed to accumulate in a match.

''My feeling is that with Coons and Griffen, [Matthew] Boyd and [Daniel] Cross - who are the mainstay centre-line players and the game breakers - really the reason their output is down a little bit is because they are being asked to do too much,'' he said.
''It is more than whether Adam Cooney can perform in those big games on his own. I think it is rare for a player to really be able to be an individual with others down in the team and to play at a nine out of 10. ''I think it runs deeper than asking one person to do it. I don't think they are that type of team, I don't think they are those types of players. But collectively, when they had that team together, I think they are an unbeatable team but they are not right now.'

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Re: Big Moment Players or Clutch Perfomers

How about Griff being our BOG in our last 2 finals series. I think he is a big game player.

As good as Griffen was in the PF v St. Kilda, he should have been the difference. He was pretty wasteful in front of goal and should have nailed 3 or 4. We would of played in a Grand Final if he finished his work off. That's the difference between the likes of Griffen/Cooney and Ablett, Hodge, Judd etc. They make it count.

He can play well in big games, but he's not a match winner IMO.

[stefoid]

Re: Big Moment Players or Clutch Perfomers

I reckon Boyd is our best guy to step up when it counts. Hes tough and the ball out. Last year he managed to kick a few goals also. Only problem his skills / disposals are not always the best. Hmmm
Even in the last quarter against the Hawks he seemed the only one who got the ball forward etc...
Even the last play he was the one who got it out to Wood i think.
Maybe he doesnt quiet have the class of Selwood, Judd, Mitchell, Hodge, Dane Swan but not sure they are real classy? Hmmm classy would be more Ablett, Chapman, Simon Black in his day....
Well they are all good players and step up when it counts. For the most part i think Boyd tries to also. Well hes less likely to go missing compared to Cooney i reckon

Its a good point. I think we tend to look at these match winners as players capable of acts of individual brilliance, concentrating directly on goal scorers or direct goal assists.

But Boyd can and does rise to the occasion in his own way - through sheer effort. He has had some massive last quarters where he has lifted his workrate to huge levels, but at the end of the day, he is the guy who is shovelling the ball out to other players, and its hard to get recognized for that if the other players fail to do their bit and turn it over.

Case in point against Hawthorn - a must win game. He had 38 possessions, 18 contested. Yes, and he turned it over 12 times, but that still makes 26 effective disposals, half of them hard earned.

Contrast with Griffen:

Grif had 19 possessions, 13 turnovers - 6 effective possessions for a game of footy. six! I realize he was tagged, which is why 11 of his possessions were contested, plus he laid 9 tackles, but his lack of ability to execute under pressure undermined his entire game.

Other midfielders effective posessions:

higgins: 12
cross: 17
cooney: 18
harbrow: 16 (part time midfield)
picken 12:
ward: 9
reid: 7